Windshield problems of the 2002 Toyota Highlander

2002 Toyota Highlander drivers side visor will not stay up. This is the second $850 unit in 2 years. It's annoying, not to mention dangerous when it dropped down unexpectedly and blocked my view through the windshield. Between the visor and the hood of the vehicle, I could see about a 2" strip of asphalt about 10 feet in front of the hood. Very very dangerous!!!!!!.

The interior heating/ac system and fan repeatedly fails to operate properly. In the spring summer when the ac would fail to blow cold and blow heat that wasn't so bad. I got the control knob fixed and all seemed to work fine. However the knob has failed again and when I needed the heat/defrost fan to work at night the frost got worse because the knob failed and the heater/fan would only blow cold air. Depending on the season and the position of the knob when it fails this should be construed as a safety issue when it affects the visual clarity of the windshield .

The driver side sun visor (w/ lighted mirror and homelink) on my 2002 Toyota Highlander will not stay up and drops down when driving which is a serious hazard. I understand that this is a very common problem with this vehicle and the cost for only the replacement part is over $700. 00. It is obviously a design issue and serious hazard that Toyota will not address.

Driver's side sun visor will not stay up. I had to tie the thing into place in order to see out the windshield and now cannot use it when the sun is at a bothersome angle. Very annoying that a part like this should fail.

Approximately six months ago I had a problem with my sun visor randomly flopping down as I was driving, and it would not stay in position when I tried to use the visor to block the sun. The dealer did replace the visor under warranty, but advised me that the part cost over $500 due to the "home link" system in the visor. The visor is once again starting to become loose, and will not stay in position up against the windshield. This is very inconvenient because I have to duck down to see under the visor at traffic signals to see when the light changes. I am also concerned that it will soon start randomly flopping down as I'm driving again. One week ago, the dealer agreed that there was a problem with my visor and this time told me that there was a defective part in the visor, which they replaced. After the repair, the visor stayed in position for only one day. When I returned to the dealership, the advisor told me that there was a defect with the visor on Highlanders, and that Toyota had corrected the problem with the new models by installing the home link system elsewhere in the vehicle. The service manager, however, insisted that there was no problem with the visor, and that was the way it was supposed to be. After a great deal of discussion, the service manager finally agreed to order a new visor for my verhicle. My concern is that this will be an ongoing battle with the dealership if the problem persists since my vehicle is now out of warranty and the part is expensive.

When both rear side windows are rolled down, sound is deafening. Dealer was aware of the problem, there was nothing he could do. Consumer was told it was a design flaw and that it could not be corrected. To control the noise consumer has to open the moon roof or the front windows.

While driving a Toyota Highlander, that we leased on 01/08/2002, we noticed that the vehicle has a problem: when the windows on the rear doors are lowered, the vehicle makes a very loud turbulance noise and vibration occurs, that makes the vehicle difficult to steer. On 01/12/2002, accompanied by my brother-in-law, we visited Toyota of cerritos, where I had leased the Toyota Highlander, and advised them of this problem. The sales manager dale pogoda, said " they have received many complaints in regards to all of the Toyota Highlanders and it is manufacturers defect, and that all that they are worried about is getting the vehicles off there lot". I have contacted the customer service manager at Toyota of cerritos, crown Toyota's service department, Toyota regional office case no. 200201160431, and followed the arbitration process. They advised us that this is a normal condition of the Toyota Highlander due to the shape of the vehicle. I have driven many SUV's like the Dodge durango, Ford expedition and chevy tahoe's. And none of these vehicles have this problem, I feel that I have a true issue that needs to be addressed before an vehicle accident occurs due to this problem. Thank you for your time.